STATUS-REPORT - LINKAGE BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE

A status report is presented on indicators of the linkage between technology, as characterized by granted U.S. patents, and science as characterized by the "Other references" cited on the front page of those patents. It is shown that these other references have increased threefold in recent years from fewer than one-third per patent in 1975 to more than one per patent in 1989. These science linkages occur most heavily in pharmaceutical, chemical and electronics patents; the cited science is youngest in electronics and pharmaceuticals with a median age of three to four years, similar to the age of research papers cited in other research papers. The cited science varies significantly for patents in the different major countries, at least partially reflecting the national differences in technological emphasis, including the strong electronic emphasis for Japanese patenting, and the U.S. and U.K. strengths in pharmaceuticals.